Actor Daniel Wu took to this year's installment of the Television Critics Association with fellow film and production partner, Stephen Fung to discuss their latest endeavors this week. Front and center, of course, was the upcoming martial arts action fantasy series, Into The Badlands, with Wu leading the cast for a story that takes an edgy approach to Chinese folklore via steampunk and high-flying kung fu action.
Alas, the series will be making its way to AMC Television on November 15, which will accompany the launch of the two-week martial arts network feature block, AMC FightFest, for martial arts action fans. This is obviously good, good news for fans of the genre, as well as subscribers what AMC has to offer in its line-up as of late, zombies and all.
Friday's press release has more:
AMC announced today from the Television Critics Association (TCA) Press Tour that its new martial arts drama series “Into the Badlands” will premiere Sunday, November 15th at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. In a land controlled by feudal barons, “Into the Badlands” tells the story of a ruthless, well-trained warrior named Sunny (Daniel Wu) and a young boy named M.K. (Aramis Knight) who embark on a spiritual journey across a dangerous land. From AMC Studios, the six-part series is created by executive producers/showrunners/writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Shanghai Noon, “Smallville”), and executive produced by Oscar®-nominated producers Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg (Pulp Fiction, Contagion), director David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers, Shanghai Nights), fight director Stephen Fung (Tai Chi Zero, House of Fury) and Daniel Wu (Tai Chi Zero).
“‘Into The Badlands’ is an exciting moment for us in that martial arts is not only a new genre for an AMC series, but also one that has been largely absent from television for 15 years,” said Joel Stillerman, president of original programming for AMC and SundanceTV. “The team behind ‘Into The Badlands,’ led by showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar, is comprised of some of the best martial artists and martial arts filmmakers in the world, and they have crafted a show that over-delivers against two big goals we set for the show: to create a compelling character drama, and to introduce the highest caliber of martial arts filmmaking to a weekly, ongoing series.”
The series premiere will coincide with AMC’s newest movie event, “AMC FightFest,” a two-week martial arts movie marathon beginning Monday, November 2through Friday, November 13. The on-air special event will feature some of the most iconic martial arts films in the history of the genre each weeknight at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.
“In the same way AMC has historically engaged fanbases from horror through Westerns, ‘AMC FightFest’ is an opportunity for us to connect with and serve martial arts fans,” said Tom Halleen, executive vice president of programming and scheduling for AMC and SundanceTV. “We are building an exciting lineup of films that target their passion for the genre as we prepare them for the amazing debut of ‘Into the Badlands.’”
“Into the Badlands” is set centuries from now, where a feudal society has emerged and the strongest and most brutal rose to wealth and power. This area came to be called the Badlands, and is divided among seven rival Barons who control the resources necessary to daily life and enforce their rule with the aid of loyal armies known as Clippers. Clippers enjoy status and comforts the general population can only dream of, and they are willing to sacrifice their lives in service to their Barons. Few Clippers ever live to see their 30th birthday, but Sunny (Daniel Wu) is no ordinary Clipper. Demonstrating lethal proficiency in martial arts, Sunny rose swiftly through the ranks to become Quinn’s (Marton Csokas) Head Clipper and most trusted advisor.
For decades, Quinn has been unchallenged as the Badlands’ most powerful Baron, but the territory’s newest Baron, The Widow (Emily Beecham), has begun staging brazen attacks on Quinn’s transport vehicles and is testing his appetite for a fight. One of those attacks leads Sunny to M.K. (Aramis Knight), a teenage boy who has survived a deadly ambush. Sunny soon comes to understand that the teen harbors a dark secret and has a hefty bounty on his head. As The Widow continues her campaign against Quinn, the destinies of the stoic assassin and the impetuous teenager become intertwined. In their evolution as teacher and student, each will discover his true purpose; together, they will embark on an odyssey that could mean the difference between chaos and enlightenment for everyone in the Badlands.
“Into the Badlands” stars Daniel Wu (Tai Chi Zero) as Sunny; Marton Csokas (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) as Quinn; Aramis Knight (The Dark Knight Rises) as M.K.; Oliver Stark (“Luther”) as Ryder; Emily Beecham (28 Weeks Later) as Widow; Orla Brady (“Dr. Who,” “Fringe”) as Lydia; Sarah Bolger (“Once Upon a Time,” “The Tudors”) as Jade; Ally Ioannides (“Parenthood”) as Tilda; and Madeleine Mantock (Edge of Tomorrow) as Veil.
